Bugatti’s design director revealed the one-off cupholder made after a Chiron owner spilled their drink
- Bugatti made a custom cupholder for a Chiron owner
- The cupholder was a specific request from the owner
- It was designed by Bugatti in just a few days
Published on Feb 13, 2025 at 6:12 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Feb 14, 2025 at 10:36 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A Bugatti Chiron owner accidentally spilled her drink in her hypercar and asked the automaker to make her a custom cupholder.
Of course, Bugatti was more than happy to oblige.
The automaker’s Director of Design, Frank Heyl, designed a cupholder for the Chiron owner in just a few days.
It must be some sort of record, not only because it only took a few days, but because this must be the first cupholder designed specifically for a seven-figure hypercar.
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The reason why Bugatti designed this cupholder
Shannon Ralston, CEO of a San Antonio firm called Angel Staffing, is the Bugatti Chiron owner in question.
She accidentally spilled her ‘sticky Austrian energy drink’ at the wheel, and then took to social media to explain the situation.
In her post, she tagged just about every and any Bugatti exec she knew, including Sasha Selipanov, former Bugatti designer who recently left the company to start his own hypercar brand Nilu27.
Crucially, she also tagged Frank Heyl, the manufacturer’s Director of Design who also helped Supercar Blondie design her own Chiron.
Heyl took a couple of days to respond but, amazingly, that was just because he needed the time to design the cupholder.
When Heyl responded, he made it clear the cupholder problem had already been solved.
“Just in time for Christmas, the design is ready. If you approve this [cupholder] design, we could mock up a rapid prototyping 3D printer part and ship it over to you for a first test fitment in January on your car,” Heyl said.
A supercar owner who actually does drive her cars
Some people who buy Bugattis or other equivalent high-profile, seven-figure hypercar, generally never drive them because they treat them as assets or investments.
But Ralston does.
She owns more than one Bugatti, and tends to drive each one of them quite frequently.
That’s refreshing to hear.
With exceptions, the guy who put over 100,000 miles (!) under the tires of his Ferrari Enzo springs to mind, supercar owners tend not to drive them very much, and it’s a shame.
Ralston, evidently, is also another exception.
